New things and next steps...

As the title suggests, this is all about the new things in my life and next steps I am taking as I'm dealing with life now. As time lengthens from when my mom died, I am learning to process through all that finally. It still has been hard to wrap my mind around her not being here. I have noticed that as more time passes, it becomes a little more real. It is all a new process for me, so I don't really know how to progress down this road. I've seen how it has affected me in such different ways than my dad or sisters. Honestly, I have some days that I don't really think about her being gone. Other days, I can't seem to remove the thought from my mind. It is really a product of my life the last few years.

I moved from home to transfer to the University of Oregon three years ago. That really became the start of a pretty independent life for me. I still talked to my family pretty regularly, but nothing like if I was living with them. And after I graduated, I started getting ready for leaving for Croatia and finally left about a year ago. My mom started getting sick after I left for Croatia and I was in limited communication with them during the five months I was there. So, I write all of that to say that this last month and a half since my mom has died has at times felt unreal. It has often felt like I have just been away from her for another long period of time. I have expressed to many people that I almost feel that it will continue to feel unreal for a long time. And each step along my life that I always expected her to be there for, and she isn't, the realness of her loss will hit another level.

Another new thing in my life is a new job. I was just hired today by a non-profit in Portland called Transition Projects (click on name for link to website). In a nutshell, they provide services to the homeless population in Portland. The services include transitional housing, food, clothing, and many other things. My position title is "Residential Advocate", which means that I will be working with the people in helping provide them with the services they need. I am really excited about this job. It is similar to what I would like to do in the future as an occupation. It will be great experience and hopefully a meaningful way to spend my year before going to seminary.

I also recently bought a new mountain bike that is pretty sweet. It is a fun little thing that allows me to ride down hills really fast and go off some jumps every once in a while. I will post some pictures of it soon after I get it nice and dirty.

And one other new thing is I am going to be an uncle again in about seven months. My sister, Amy, is expecting in April for her first child. I have four crazy nephews from my other sister Carolynn. Carolynn and I are silently hoping Amy has a little girl, so we can have a niece. It will be fun to have another baby around in a bit. Being an uncle is great! All the fun things like seeing them, but not having to keep them very long!